The project hotd2-recompiled presented on October 9, 2026 an experimental recompilation of The House of the Dead 2, the arcade classic released for the Sega NAOMI board. The goal is to run the game in the browser using WebAssembly, but the public code still requires local compilation and your own copy of the original data.

In addition, the repository of yunophilia on GitHub documents the ahead-of-time conversion of SH-4 processor instructions to C. Next, the project uses a custom execution environment to replace original hardware functions. This is a development milestone, not a ready-to-play release.

How the recompilation of The House of the Dead 2 works

According to the README, the tools identified approximately 2,700 program functions. In practice, the recompiler converts these routines to C and preserves details such as instruction delays and cycle counts. Afterward, compilation with Emscripten allows running the result in WebAssembly.

However, the solution does not eliminate all interpretation. The runtime includes an SH-4 interpreter for paths that static analysis has not yet identified. Therefore, the method combines ahead-of-time recompilation, fallback interpretation, and high-level emulation of NAOMI components.

The author also describes a WebGL2 browser renderer, in addition to a software reference rasterizer. The documentation cites mouse or touch input, keyboard credit and start commands, and EEPROM/SRAM data storage in localStorage.

Original game image, not the experimental recompilation. Source: LaunchBox Games Database.

House of the Dead 2 in the browser: experimental gameplay

In this context, the developer reports a demonstration mode and gameplay snippets at 60 frames per second in the browser. In addition, they claim to have compared 972 functions between the recompiler and interpreter over 30 thousand frames, with no divergences in this test set. These numbers are results described by the author, not independent measurements by Allves Games.

However, the task list still plans to expand the coverage of executed paths in advanced stages. Thus, the documentation does not prove that the entire campaign can be completed not even that any computer will maintain 60 FPS. The historical game images used in this article are illustrative and do not show the execution of the experimental project.

Another capture of the original arcade; it does not prove the operation of the WebAssembly project. Source: LaunchBox Games Database.

What is needed to test the code

For now, the repository provides tools and source code, without distributing the game data and without presenting an installable binary package. The documented procedure uses a Linux environment via WSL, Emscripten, and the project's compilation scripts. It is also necessary to prepare your own legally obtained dump of the NAOMI cartridge, identified as hotd2.zip.

After compilation, a local server with the headers required by the browser hosts the produced files. This does not mean that there is a public version ready to open and play over the internet. Therefore, there is no executable download button at this stage; the , official README brings together the technical requirements.

Why the project deserves attention

In this sense, the experience seeks to bring the code of the original arcade to a modern platform without relying exclusively on conventional emulator execution. Even so, part of the hardware behavior continues to be represented by software, and incomplete coverage limits conclusions about compatibility.

To understand the difference between experimental projects and ready versions, it is worth comparing with the recompilation of Uniracers with browser player. Already the news about Flycast on macOS deals with a traditional emulator, an approach distinct from the one used here.

Sources: developer's repository and README; LaunchBox Games Database (original game images).